A Long Weekend in February
A few things things that stole my attention away from the day-to-day.
Monday is a national holiday in Japan which means two of my children have a three-day weekend, ostensibly to celebrate the birthday of the 126th Emperor of Japan 🎂. Since we didn’t make it to the Imperial Palace to catch a glimpse of His Majesty the Emperor together with Her Majesty the Empress, Their Imperial Highnesses Crown Prince and Crown Princess Akishino, Her Imperial Highness Princess Aiko and Her Imperial Highness Princess Kako of Akishino in person, we’ll have to make do with lesser, more pedestrian activities.
I’m considering taking them to check out the Machine Love: Video Game, AI and Contemporary Art exhibit at the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi. Coincidentally, the Mori is currently showing a trove of ancient Egyptian artifacts on loan from the Brooklyn Museum of Art - which is cool and all but I’ve been fortunate enough to see a great many of those pieces a gajillion times on countless visits to the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn - so maybe we’ll skip that one.
In the meantime, I find myself making a conscious effort to resurrect my pre-cellphone habit of having a book on my person at all times. (I have tried many times to use an eReader or my phone but I just prefer the visceral experience of a physical book.) At the moment, I’m reading “Let Me Tell You: New Stories, Essays, and Other Writings” by Shirley Jackson. Best known for her incredible short story, “The Lottery,” Jackson is by far one of my favorites. She wrote broadly across genres moving deftly between humor, essay, memoir and fiction. She also happened to be a mother of four like your’s truly. Incidentally, the Netflix limited series based on her gothic short, “The Haunting of Hill House,” is one of the most deliciously scary, terrifyingly good things I’ve ever watched.
On a lesser note, I’ve been craving banana blueberry pancakes so I’ll be making those (point me to your favorite pancake recipe please) and if you live in Tokyo or plan to visit, the very best banana pancakes can be had, weekends only, at Locale in Meguro! 🥞
Otherwise, here are a few things things that caught my eye or otherwise stole my attention away from the day-to-day on the web this week.
Reading (on Substack):
You know that scene from “The Princess Bride” when Vizzini keeps repeating the word “inconceivable” after something inconceivable happens and Inigo Montoya replies, "You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means." Similarly, I think a lot of people think they know what DEI means but don’t actually know what DEI means. On her substack
, Kate Manne offers an insightful take on DEI, preferential hiring, and who benefits.
Rob Stephenson writes about Clinton Hill, the Brooklyn neighborhood that will forever have my heart and where the majority of my epic Brooklyn childhood played out in his substack,
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Reading Elsewhere:
Denise DiIanni shares a beautiful essay about the time she spent working in the neonatal unit at a local hospital in When Your Only Job is to Cuddle. (NYTimes gift article)
Craig Mod’s post on how most foreigners have to rethink our relationship to garbage while in Japan (and elsewhere) was an easy and worthwhile read.
On the Small Screen:
I love actor Sterling K. Brown; as Randall Pearson in “This is Us,” and more recently as Cliff Ellison in the brilliant “American Fiction” (and scores of other performances in between) so I am looking forward to watching “Paradise” a political drama where he plays a Secret Service agent caught in a conspiracy following the death of the President.
Make You Smile:
Japan has mascots, called yuru-chara ゆるキャラ, for everrrrrrything - not just sports teams like in the US, but to promote businesses, a region, an event, even transit systems have their own mascots. They’re usually, or maybe by definition, cute, so cute, big and squishy that they can sometimes have trouble navigating spaces meant for us comparatively small humans.
Yummy Eats:
I love the Indian dessert, soan papdi, but until last week, I had no idea it was called soan papdi, so I only enjoyed it on rare, by happy-accident occasion. I have no resistance to soan papdi, so I’m kind of terrified and delighted to now know both the name, and a recipe. Let me know how they come out if you try to make it!
Reader Comments:
In response to Accentuate the Positive, Ed writes: “I was born and raised in Brooklyn, and I spent 3 decades teaching there. I am sure that my Brooklyn accent is noticeable, but an interesting thing happened yesterday. I was walking with my wife and dog, Rosie, around a campground up near Lake Ontario. Three boys asked to pet Rosie, and we spent a few minutes chatting. I was enjoying our conversation because the boys were the age of the students I taught. One of them asked me, “Are you from Australia? You definitely have an Australian accent.” I told him I was from the Australian part of Brooklyn.”
In response to Singing is a Way to Access Joy, Lolita writes: “…whenever I doubt the power of music I remember its ability to transmit the space between strangers. Like the time my youngest and I were singing “Do Re Mi” from the Sound of Music while we were waiting in a line and the whole line joined in — unabashedly loud and without embarrassment. The positive energy shared in that moment, among strangers, made my son’s whole day and nearly made me cry.”
In Case You Missed It:
Newsletter No. 28 was ostensibly (I keep using that word) about Setsubun, a traditional Japanese holiday that marks that beginning of spring but it was also a look at things to keep in mind as we navigate the political landscape in the United States.
Tell Me:
What are you getting into this weekend? Reading anything good? Anything that made you smile? Let’s talk about it in the comments! Thanks for reading Occasionally Impervious! See you in two weeks! 📚
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Thanks for the shout out! I love Clinton Hill so I’m glad I put out something that gets the seal of approval from a former resident!